


Boy, You're 'bout to See the Light

by Hippiebuckyharrington



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Brief mention of weed, Drinking, Drunk confessions, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Swearing, accidental confessions, idiot boys in love, there's a little bit of angst that just slipped in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:29:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28143885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hippiebuckyharrington/pseuds/Hippiebuckyharrington
Summary: "Do I know you?" Billy asks, tilting his head.Steve suppresses a laugh. "I should hope so. Now come on." Steve bends down, grabs Billy's arm and pulls until Billy, with a lot of shuffling and drunken giggling, is standing. He leans heavily against Steve and blinks up at him."STEVE!!!!" He bellows, and leans back so suddenly Steve almost drops him."Very good Bills." Steve says, managing to keep his grip on him."Did you know the stars are sleeping?" Billy whispers shouts.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44
Collections: Harringrove Holiday Exchange 2020





	Boy, You're 'bout to See the Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lemonlovely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonlovely/gifts).



> Happy Holidays lemonlovely! 
> 
> I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and that you like your gift!! 
> 
> Title comes from the song Hang on by Needtobreathe

Steve is rather listlessly watching some old Christmas movie sprawled on his couch, on the verge of becoming one with the cushions. He’s eating the slightly stale popcorn from Family Video that he takes home with him at the end of his shifts more than he's proud of. He's bored as hell, but in that slightly passive way: the movie sucks, the popcorn is too chewy, and he's kinda cold, but it’s too much trouble to get up and deal with any of it.

He's kinda debating going upstairs to get his secret stash of weed, just to make the night feel a little better. He doesn't work tomorrow, and the kids don't want to do anything tonight that involves him so there’s nothing to stay sober for. The plot of the silly movie can honestly only be enhanced by a buzz. Or maybe there's some beer in the fridge he can dig out. The fridge is closer…

He's just deciding to get up and search the fridge for some beer or something, when there's a weird burst of sound from the room. He sits up and squints around. It didn't come from the movie, which is showing some sappy romantic scene with quiet gently swelling music in the background. It wasn't from the street outside, Loch Nora is quiet as hell, and it’s been snowing all evening, so no one has driven by in a while.

The sound comes again, a crackling kind of burst of noise. 

"Steve?! Steve do you copy?! Over." A staticky voice calls into the room, and the mystery clicks together. The radio, shoved under the couch. Steve squashes down a flash of panic as Dustin's voice sounds through the room. Steve drops down onto his belly beside the couch, and tries to fish the radio out. 

"Steve?! Do you copy? Over." Dustin demands, and then Mike's voice comes snapping through: "Steve dammit. Get out your damn radio. Why did we even give him this thing?" Steve huffs and finally just shoves the couch backwards to snatch the radio up. 

"Dustin?! Mike?! Are you ok?" Steve demands into the radio. 

"You have to say over when you're done Steve." Dustin whines. 

"Dustin don't start." Will chimes in. 

"NONE OF YOU ARE SAYING OVER, OVER." Dustin shrieks.

"Well, you just said it twice so that should count for something." And there's Lucas chiming in. Steve wonders briefly if they are all over at Dustin's house, or maybe Mike's, Will's, if this is a certified Party gathering. Or, and this seems the most likely answer, the boys are just nosy little shits who are listening in on the channel and can hear the whole conversation. 

"That's not how this works, and you know it!" Dustin demands. In the background there is a faint crackle of Mrs. Henderson yelling for Dustin to quit shouting. Steve sits back on his heels, cradling the radio in his lap and sighs deeply through his nose. It's clearly not an emergency if the kids can squabble about walkie talkie etiquette. 

"Guys. As fun as it is to listen to you all yell at Dustin." Steve says, and then waits a beat, because predictably Dustin squawks indignantly into his radio. "Is there an actual reason you called me or like, can I go back to pretending you all aren't my only friends?" Steve says, deliberately not saying over. 

"Don't you dare say it Dustin." Lucas snaps. 

Dustin heaves a heavy sigh into his radio, causing it to crackle loudly and annoyingly. And honestly, talk about walkie talkie etiquette. Steve rolls his eyes the way Robin says makes him look like a beleaguered mother. 

"I just meant to tell Steve this, guys. over." Dustin snips. 

"Well, we are all listening now, so just get it over with! I'm trying to watch tv with my mom!" Max snaps. Steve didn't know she had access to this channel let alone a radio. Good for the boys. 

"It's about your brother." Dustin crackles. The radio channel falls deathly silent. Even the movie Steve forgot was still on is quiet. There's a shared understanding among them all after this summer, a shared wavelength that comes with that much trauma. Billy Hargrove has been folded into the pack whether he's aware of it or not. But Steve can practically feel it vibrating on the air, triangulating out from all of them in some weird psychic link. (Not smoking that weed was probably a good choice if Steve is thinking about psychic connections). Their minds are all going to the same place: is Billy possessed again? Is he ok? What's happened? 

"What about my brother?" Max demands. Steve is gripping his radio so tight it's probably in danger of breaking. 

"He just walked by my house. And he's very very drunk." Dustin reports. 

There's a pause. "Shit. I just checked his room, he's not here." Max hisses softly. 

Fuck. 

"Dustin, did you first radio me right when you saw him?" Steve demands, jumping up and starting to look for his snow boots. 

"Yes, so that was about twenty minutes ago. He was heading down my street toward the stop sign." Dustin says. Steve shoves his feet into the boots and begins looking for his coat. 

"Steve, he doesn't have a coat, he took his jean jacket but it's snowing pretty hard." Max says. Steve was afraid of that. 

"Ok, I'm gonna go look for him." Steve says, shrugging on the coat when he finds it. He grabs another one just in case. 

The radio in his hand crackles again. “Steve.” El’s voice says. Steve grips the radio tighter, holding it closer. 

“El. Is he ok?!” Steve asks, trying to keep his voice from edging toward demanding. She’s been through a lot. 

“He’s sad, and lonely. Drunk. But not possessed.” El says. He can practically feel all of them exhale a sigh of relief. 

"Do you want Jonathan and Nancy to go look too?" Will asks. Steve pauses at the front door and thinks about it for a second. But he really doesn’t want help. He wants to be the one to rescue Billy. Also, its Hawkins, there’s only so many place Billy can be. 

"No, I think I can find him. El?" Steve says. 

“Yes?” El answers. 

“Do you know where he went?” Steve asks. 

“He’s lying in the snow, in front of a house. He’s ok.” She says. That’s not super helpful, but if Billy is ok, it’s the best he’s got. 

He stashes the radio in his pocket and dashes out to his car. It is still snowing, and it’s getting colder out. He starts the engine, and backs out of the drive way. The snow squeaks a little under the tires, and Steve shudders. It’s too cold. He drives as fast as he can toward Dustin's neighborhood. The roads are getting bad, icy and slick, the snow fluttering down in thick flakes. 

Steve has to drive slowly to avoid wrecking his very nice car. The slow drive does give him time to think, though his focus should probably be on the roads. He didn't want Jon and Nance to help, not because he doesn't want to see them, but because he wants to help Billy. He wants to take care of him, and bring him home, sober him up. 

Ever since the summer, since Billy almost died trying to save them, he’s been all Steve can think about. Suddenly Steve's whole day had suddenly revolved around Billy Hargrove, and since Robin's drug induced confession, Steve's done some thinking. 

With the help of Robin, he's realized that he likes both men and women. He liked the way Nancy fit so well in his arms, liked her small hands and her entire being. But Steve also likes boys, well one boy specifically. Likes his golden curls, his rock-hard stomach, which even now after the summer, is still firm. He likes his smile and his jaw line, and the breadth of his shoulders and everything about him. It’s all rather new and confusing.

So, maybe it's that crush that has Steve wanting to swoop in and rescue Billy Hargrove. But it's also that Billy has been through so much in the past year, is still going through so much with his piece of shit dad, and Steve just wants to make it better. To ease the furrow between his brows, and the perpetual sadness in the set of his shoulders and the depths of his blue eyes when he comes into Family Video. Steve knows that's all a cliché, but he can't quite help it. He loves with his whole heart, always has. Robin thinks it's the funniest thing, him having a huge crush on Billy Hargrove. 

Billy has just changed so much is all. Or maybe not changed, Steve sorta suspects that this Billy has always been hiding under the other, meaner one. Billy is softer, more approachable, and Steve is all sorts of swept up in it. 

He shakes off those thoughts when he turns onto Dustin's street. Almost every house on the street has Christmas lights strung around the eaves and porch railings. Some even decorated the trees in the front yards. Steve slows way down, and glances to each side, looking for a stumbling drunk person. If he was here under different circumstances the Christmas lights in the snow would look almost peaceful and pretty. As it is, the multicolored dim glow on the street makes it hard to distinguish a slumped over drunk person from a snow drift. 

Steve doesn't see Billy by the time he gets to the stop sign at the corner by Dustin's house, but he does see footprints not yet filled in with snow veering off down the block. Steve debates for a bit if he should go talk to Dustin, but he's worried about Billy. It's too cold for him to be wandering the streets drunk off his ass. 

"Steve just drove by my house, over." Dustin says over the walkie. 

"Did you find him?" Max responds, voice soft and crackly like she's whispering right into the speaker 

Steve fumbles for the radio in his pocket still. "Not yet, but I think I'm close." 

They don't respond, but Steve doesn't care. He can see someone sprawled in Mrs. Spark's driveway. Steve parks by the curb, but leaves the engine running. He climbs out of the car and creeps closer, trying to see who it is.

It's Billy alright. Billy Hargrove is sprawled in the driveway, attempting to make a snow angel, arms and legs flailing around. 

"Hargrove?" Steve calls. 

"Shhhhhhhhhh." Billy slurs. "The stars are sleepin." He points helpfully at the sky, stars obscured by the heavy clouds settled over Hawkins. 

Steve laughs a little. "Are they?"

"Yep." Billy chirps happily. 

Steve is about to respond when the light over the garage flicks on, and the front door opens. 

"Steve?" Mrs. Spark calls. 

"Hi Mrs. Spark. Sorry to bother you." Steve says, waving a bit. Mrs. Spark steps down the stairs from her front porch, pulling her cardigan closer around her. She’s a second-grade teacher at Hawkins Elementary, and in typical elementary teacher fashion, is one of the nicest people ever. 

"Oh my." She says, when she spots Billy. "This your friend Steve?" 

"Yes, sorry. I'll get him off your driveway soon." Steve shrugs watching as Billy goes back to trying to get his limbs to cooperate enough to finish the snow angel. He kicks one leg straight up in the air, which makes both onlookers chuckle. 

"Don't worry, dear. Is he alright?" She asks.

"He's a little intoxicated, I'm here to take him home." Steve explains. 

"Not to his house, I hope. That Neil Hargrove is bad news, mark my words." Mrs. Spark nods her head so definitively Steve is a little worried one of her giant snowman earrings is going to make a break for it.

"I won't, I'm gonna take him home with me." Steve says. Mrs. Spark nods again.

"Good. Oh! I've got some Christmas cookies; don't go before I get them." She says, and goes hurrying back inside. Steve smiles after her, she and her husband are really great people.

"Come on Hargrove, let’s go home." 

"Do I know you?" Billy asks, tilting his head. 

Steve suppresses a laugh. "I should hope so. Now come on." Steve bends down, grabs Billy's arm and pulls until Billy, with a lot of shuffling and drunken giggling, is standing. He leans heavily against Steve and blinks up at him. 

"STEVE!!!!" He bellows, and leans back so suddenly Steve almost drops him. 

"Very good Bills." Steve says, managing to keep his grip on him. 

"Did you know the stars are sleeping?" Billy whispers shouts. Steve is saved from answering by the reappearance of Mrs. Spark carrying a covered plate of cookies. She hands them to Steve and helps him open the passenger side door of the Beemer and dump Billy into it. He hums happily to some tune only he can hear as Steve buckles him in and hands him the plate of cookies. 

"Thanks Mrs. Spark, sorry if he was any trouble." Steve says, circling to car to the driver’s side. 

"Oh no dear, we didn't even know he was here, but Frank saw your headlights and I thought I'd check to make sure you were alright." Mrs. Spark smiles at him. "Drive safe Steve!”   
“We will, thank you for the cookies!” Steve calls. She waves and heads back inside. Steve slides into the car, glancing over. Billy is fiddling with the walkie talkie, looking confused. 

"You ok?" Steve asks, putting the car in gear. 

"Peachy keen jelly bean." Billy chirps, and Steve barely smothers his laugh. 

"Good. Give me that." Steve says, plucking the radio from Billy's hands. 

"I got Billy, I'm gonna take him back to my house." Steve says into the radio.

"Thank you, Steve!" Max responds. 

"Max?!" Billy yells, trying unsuccessfully to look in the back seat.

"Is he ok?" Will asks. 

"Lil Byers!!!" Billy yells. Steve laughs and presses the talk button again. 

"He's very drunk but he's ok." Steve says. 

"Glad you could get him, over." Dustin says.

"Yeah, thanks again Steve. I'll make some excuse to my stepdad; can you just keep him with you?" Max asks. 

"Yep, I got him." Steve says, turning into Loch Nora. 

“Thanks Steve.” El responds. 

He parks in his driveway, and helps Billy drunkenly shuffle up to the front door. He decides to leave the cookies from Mrs. Spark in the car, he doesn’t really feel like dealing with them, especially when Billy keeps stopping to squint up at the sky. 

Billy is quiet as they stumble into the living room, where Steve dumps him on the couch. He goes to the kitchen to get Billy a reheated plate of leftover pasta and a huge glass of water. 

"I'm gonna get you some warmer clothes, stay here." Steve says. Billy is happily eating the food and doesn't acknowledge Steve. He runs upstairs and grabs Billy some old Hawkins High sweatpants, and an old sweatshirt from Indiana State. 

When he gets back downstairs Billy is trying unsuccessfully to peel off his soaked jean jacket. He finally pulls it off his arms, and throws it down with a wet flop on the floor. Steve laughs a little. 

“Here.” Steve says. He mostly herds Billy into the bathroom and sets the dry clothes on the sink. Steve leave Billy to it, and bustles around the first floor of the house. He’s trying to keep busy, so he doesn’t just sit around thinking about what now. He’s got a drunk Billy Hargrove here, and he’s not sure how to deal with that. He eventually settles on doing the dishes, which he’d been neglecting.

He jumps a little and drops a plate back into the soapy water when strong arms wrap around his middle. Billy snuggles closer.

"Ssssssmell nice." Billy mumbles. 

"You ok Billy?" Steve asks, setting the last dish in the drying rack and toweling off his hands. 

"Mmmm sad." Billy admits and then heaves a huge world-weary sigh. Steve's eyebrows creep up.

"You wanna talk about it?" Steve asks, resting his hands-on Billy’s arms. 

"Maybe, I jus’ wanna snuggle." Billy mumbles, managing to cuddle closer to Steve. Steve has to fight down his smile. 

"I gotta finish in here, you wanna go sit by the Christmas tree? I'll bring you some more water in just a second." Steve says. 

"Mmmmmkay." Billy says and goes wandering off toward the front living room. Steve takes a deep breath. 

He has a small crisis on the fact that a drunk Billy asked him for snuggles. He decides to call Robin, because that's what you do right? When your crush is drunk and wants to snuggle you call your lesbian best friend for advice right? 

Steve decides just to go for it, dialing the number before he can talk himself out of it. 

"Hello?" 

"Hi Mrs. Buckley, is Robin there?" Steve says. Robin's mother loves him, much to Robin’s dismay. 

"Oh of course, she's just in her room. Let me go get her." Steve hears her mom bellow for her to pick up the phone, and a few seconds later Robins voice sounds in his ear. 

"Mom, you can hang up now." 

"Ok, not too late Robin." 

"I know Mom." Robin says, and there's a click as her mom hangs up. "What do you want dingus?"

"Billy is at my place." Steve whispers into the phone. 

"Woah, really?! Good for you, asking him out!" Robin practically squeals. 

"I didn't. He's drunk and went wandering past Dustin's place. He radioed me and I found him in Mrs. Spark's driveway." Steve hisses.

"Wow. He's having a rough night, yikes." Robin says. There's a pause. "But why are you calling me?" 

"Because he asked me for snuggles! And he said he was sad!" 

"Steve." Robin says in that annoyed flat way of hers. "You are such a sucker for this emotional shit. This is your in! Be there for him, besides he's drunk. He’s probably gonna fall asleep soon anyway."

"I mean I guess." Steve says, reluctantly. 

"No this is your moment! Be there for him, and leave me alone! I'm having a lovely dingus and monster free night reading _Persuasion _." Robin says, and promptly hangs up. Steve is left listening to the incessant dial tone, blinking out at the swimming pool. He hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath. He can do this.__

__Steve wanders into the living room to find Billy sitting right in front of the Christmas tree staring up at it. He smiles, and sets Billy's glass of water on the coffee table and sits on the couch. Billy turns and smiles at him._ _

__"This is like Harrington's Chrisss’mas Tree!" Billy says, pointing at it. Steve smirks._ _

__"That is my Christmas tree." Steve says._ _

__Billy's eyes go wide and he's suddenly scrambling up to sit on the couch._ _

__"You know Harrington too?!" Billy demands. Steve's smile stretches._ _

__"Yes, I do. And you are still very drunk." He points out and hands Billy the water. He drinks it in one long go and nearly misses the coffee table when he goes to set it down. Billy then shuffles around until he's curled against Steve's side and breathes out long and slow._ _

__"This is nice." Billy mumbles. Steve smiles and lifts his arm a little so the other boy can snuggle closer. It's quiet for a while, both just looking at the Christmas tree._ _

__"We don't have a Christmas tree." Billy mutters after a few minutes._ _

__"No?" Steve responds, he's kinda sleepy, and Billy snuggled against him isn't helping._ _

__"Nope, my dad hates them. Susan put a smallish one in the living room but it's not the same. Harrington's got a big one!!" Billy declares, and then rubs at his face the way drunk people do, more hitting himself than anything._ _

__"Yes, I do, my mom pays someone to come set it up every year right after Thanksgiving." Steve says. Billy sighs._ _

__"mmmmm Harrington's house has lotsa lightsss on it too." Billy says._ _

__"Yep, my dad pays someone to do that, same day the tree goes up." Steve supplies, knowing that the house on Old Cherry Rd has only one string of lights wrapped around the porch railing that Max hung up._ _

__"When we get married, he can put up the tree, and I'll get the lights." Billy mutters, budging closer._ _

__"When you get married?" Steve asks, ignoring the way his heart aches in his chest at that._ _

__"Yep." Billy says popping the p loudly. "Cause we's gonnnn get married, ya know?! But he don'ttttt know." Steve just blinks down at Billy._ _

__"He doesn't know you're gonna get married?" Steve asks. It's common knowledge that Billy is gay, well common knowledge among the kids, Jon, Nance, and Robin. And maybe Heather knows. So, Steve ignores the pronouns and tries to figure out what Billy's actually saying. Billy sits up and does his best to smack Steve in the arm. It's mostly just him wobbling around frowning in concentration and he ends up smacking the couch instead._ _

__"No! We’s gots tah be in love first dummy. And he don' know I loves him!" Billy says. He reaches out one finger to bop Steve on the nose, but he misses and stabs Steve in the cheek instead._ _

__"Oh, my mistake." Steve teases, laughing a little. Billy huffs a little indignantly._ _

__"Yeah." He says, huffy, chest all puffed up. "You gotta be in love and then we can get married!"_ _

__"I'm sorry, my bad." Steve says, failing to keep the laugh out of his voice. Billy doesn't seem to notice._ _

__"Yeah, Harrington." Billy says, with all the sass he can muster and collapses against Steve again. Steve wonders if he should ask, or if he should just leave it alone. Billy is pretty tipsy still, and maybe shouldn't say too much._ _

__"Well maybe he does love you, you never know." Steve says._ _

__"He doesn't. He likes girls, and I like boys and that’s a problem!" Billy declares, flailing his arm out in an attempt at an expressive gesture._ _

__"Maybe he likes both, Bills." Steve says._ _

__"Noooo, 'm not that lucky." Billy whispers, and it just breaks Steve's heart a little._ _

__"You might be, you don't know for sure." Steve mumbles, leaning closer to him._ _

__"Maybe." Billy says, and sighs deeply. “Also, I was a monster, I did bad things.”_ _

__“No you aren’t Billy! The Mind Flayer made you do that, it’s not your fault.” Steve says. Billy frowns and looks back at the Christmas Tree._ _

__“I just want one good thing.” He mumbles._ _

__“You deserve so many good things, Bills.” Steve replies, reaching out and tucking a curl behind Billy’s ear._ _

__Billy shrugs. “You think someone will really love me someday?”_ _

__“Yeah Billy, someone absolutely will.” Steve says. Billy frowns for a few moments and then yawns hugely. He settles back in against Steve, snuggling into the sweatshirt._ _

__They lapse into silence, Billy in that drunken sleepiness, Steve fighting back the urge to ask Billy who this fucker is that doesn't love him like he should. He settles on just wrapping his arms around the other boy instead._ _

__Billy sits up suddenly and turns to Steve, a serious look on his face. "I'm gonna vomit."_ _

__"Jesus!" Steve shrieks, leaping up. "The powder room is right through there." Steve says pointing to the small bathroom Billy changed in, watching nervously as Billy goes tottering off to the bathroom.  
Steve hovers nearby until Billy emerges, looking much more sober. _ _

__"Yikes, you ok man?" Steve asks. Billy nods. "Come on, the guest room is all set up for you."_ _

__Billy manages to climb the stairs leaning heavily on Steve, and falls face first onto the bed when they reach it. Steve hurries about for a few minutes, getting a glass of water and his mom’s fancy migraine pills for the headache Billy is sure to have tomorrow. Billy is already asleep, snoring slightly on the pillows, and Steve smiles at him, before turning off the lights and heading to his own room._ _

__He lies awake for a long time, staring at his plaid walls, thinking about Billy. It isn't fair that someone so great should get such a shitty hand in life, should have to go through so much. He wonders what happened today to make Billy get drunk like that, was it just typical Friday night shenanigans, or was it the sadness of unrequited feelings? Was it something with his dad? Was it Mind Flayer memories?_ _

__Steve wants to go back to the guest bedroom and fold around Billy, whisper sweet things in his ear. Make promises that as long as he's around and has any say in the matter, Billy doesn't need to spend another second doubting the absolute gift that he is. But that's not his place, not his right. So as much as he aches for the other boy, he stays where he is, tossing and turning until he eventually falls asleep._ _

__

__Steve wakes up the next morning to the walkie talkie hitting him in the face._ _

__"The kids think I've killed you and have been squawking about it all morning on that damn thing. I could hear it all the way downstairs!" Billy growls from the doorway, glaring at Steve still blinking awake._ _

__"Steve do you copy?!?!" Dustin demands through the radio. Steve groans and presses the talk button on the device._ _

__"Fuck Dustin, I was sleeping."_ _

__"Language!" Dustin barks. "I just wanted to check! Make sure you two survived the night."_ _

__Billy grumbles something under his breath that sounds a lot like damn kids and vanishes into the hall way._ _

__"We are fine Dustin, and all the other kids that I know are listening in." Steve snaps._ _

__“He also wanted to say that it’s snowing too hard and none of our parents want to drive us over to your house.” Mike grouches._ _

__“Sorry guys, we can do game night later. Billy and I are fine, now leave us be.” Steve says. After all of the kids agree, he turns the volume way down on the radio and leaves it on the nightstand._ _

__He pads down the hallway to the guest room but finds it empty, so continues downstairs. It's still snowing out just as the kids said, but the storm seems to have renewed gusto this morning, the house across the street can hardly be seen through the flurry._ _

__Steve frowns and heads to the kitchen._ _

__The coffee maker is gurgling, making what looks like absolute tar. Steve breathes deep and instantly feels more awake from the fumes alone. Billy is standing at the fancy stove his mom bought and never used._ _

__"What're you making?" Steve asks._ _

__"Home fries and omelets, it's the only thing I can make." Billy grunts. "Can I smoke in here?"_ _

__"Yeah, go for it." Steve supplies and settles into the two-person table tucked in a corner of the kitchen.  
They have a big formal dining room that his mother insists on using when she’s home, but this table is where Steve eats the meals that don't happen as he's rushing out the door or in front of the TV. _ _

__Billy lights a cigarette and takes a few long drags from it while he cooks. Steve stares out the windows at the blizzard outside. He can practically feel the tension radiating from Billy, and he wants to comfort him in some way, but he isn’t sure how._ _

__Billy finishes the food and divides it evenly between two plates. He sets one in front of Steve as well as a full mug of the coffee. Billy dumps a little bit of milk in his coffee before sitting down across from Steve. Steve grabs some sugar packets from the little dish in the middle of the table and adds them to his coffee.  
It's awkwardly quiet in the kitchen for a few moments. _ _

__Billy sighs and looks at Steve for a long moment. "Look, about last night. What I said…"_ _

__Steve gets a shiver of fear when he realizes that Billy remembers everything. Billy takes a deep breath. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, or anything. And all that stuff about marriage and stuff, I don't want it to make you upset."_ _

__Steve frowns down at his potatoes and eggs. "You didn't say who it was, that you were in love with. So why would it make me uncomfortable?"_ _

__Billy looks at him for a long moment, simultaneously looking at Steve like he’s stupid and like Steve is someone special. Steve is reminded of when he and Nancy were together, and things would get crazy or stressful. He'd look at her, across the hall, across the room, wherever and find peace just looking at her. She was such a safe place for him, looking at her felt like a rest. He wants to be that for Billy, wants Billy to draw strength from just looking at him._ _

__Billy straightens a little, and sets down his fork._ _

__"Steve." He says in the exact same tone and inflection that Robin used in that dirty mall bathroom. Steve blinks, but unlike then the pieces aren't slotting into place. He frowns, searching Billy's face for the answer. "You really gonna make me say it, pretty boy?" he whispers._ _

__"Say what? I'm confused?" Steve says, just as soft._ _

__Billy scrubs a hand down his face and sighs. "Steve, you are the one I'm apparently drunkenly rambling about marrying."_ _

__Steve drops his fork onto the plate and stares at Billy. And, like, all the times he thought of this moment, while a blizzard is raging and while one of them is hungover isn’t how he pictured it. But it's also perfect, in its own way. In all their moments smiling a little over the Family Video counter, hanging out while chauffeuring the kids to the arcade and each other's house, all the casual moments, it feels right that this should be this way too._ _

__"Really?" Steve asks, the faintest echo of bullshit resounding in his mind._ _

__"Yes, you idiot, I've been into you since way before this summer." Billy says, and he looks nervous._ _

__"Well, we are both idiots then." Steve says, and pushes back from the table. Billy eyes him cautiously. "I like you too."_ _

__Billy takes a second, and then his face splits in a grin. "Oh yeah?"_ _

__"Yeah, now get over here!" Steve demands, pushing back from the table. Billy stands slowly and comes around the table, standing between Steve's legs, looking down at him._ _

__Steve brings his hands up to Billy's hips, Billy's hands coming down on his shoulders._ _

__"Seriously, you too?" Billy asks. Steve grins up at him._ _

__"Me too." He agrees, and tilts his head up to accept the kiss Billy is already leaning down to give him. Billy makes a small noise against Steve’s mouth, and Steve surges up to meet him. He stands and wraps his arms around Billy, drawing him in. Billy threads his fingers in Steve's hair, and holds him tight._ _

__"Stay here, I'll make hot chocolate and we can curl up on the couch together." Steve whispers. Billy laughs a little._ _

__"Pretty boy, I can't go anywhere, I'm pretty sure we're stuck here." Billy says. Steve grins._ _

__"Good."_ _

__Billy seems to debate for a moment before he leans close to him, and whispers right in his ear "Maybe you'll let me blow you before we snuggle under the blankets?" Steve's knees go weak, and an embarrassing whine escapes his mouth._ _

__“Or we could do that, that sounds good.” Steve manages._ _

__Billy just smirks and tugs him into the TV room, shoves him down on the couch. Steve lands with an oof and blinks hazily up at Billy._ _

__"You ok?" Billy whispers, dropping to his knees between Steve's legs. Steve nods, and threads his fingers through Billy's hair. "I'm… after everything this summer, I really need you to tell me that this is ok." Billy says. Steve's face softens from lust blown to something easier. He trails his fingers down to Billy's chin, cupping his cheek._ _

__"Yes, Bills. I want this, I want you. And I promise, I'll tell you if I change my mind or don't want something." Steve swears, and Billy grins before kissing Steve's palm. Yeah, it’s maybe a little fast, maybe they are doing things a bit out of order. Drunken coffessions to sober confessions to blowjobs is a bit confusing, but so are interdimensional monster possession and girls with super powers._ _

__Billy sits up on his knees, leaning into Steve's space to kiss him soundly. Billy's hands drop to Steve's sweatpants, undoing the drawstring tie. Steve follows suit, and thills a little to realize that Billy is still in his borrowed sweats._ _

__Billy keeps kissing Steve as he teases thick fingers just below Steve's waistband. He breaks away, and kisses down Steve's neck, open mouth kisses leaving a burning trail across Steve's pale skin._ _

__"Can't wait to taste you, gorgeous. Been thinking about this." Billy whispers. Steve's whole body shudders._ _

__"Me too. But um… I've never…. Uhm. I mean I have, with girls, but never with…you know…" Steve trails off with a breathy moan, tilting his head back to give Billy better access._ _

__"Mmmm it's alright baby. I love the idea of being your first." Billy breathes against his skin, and Steve just melts into the couch. He slides his hands under Billy's borrowed shirt, feeling the heat of the other boy. Steve's hands skate over one of the raised scars on Billy's sides. They both freeze, but Steve deliberately touches over the scar again._ _

__"You're so strong, Bills." Steve says, and kisses the side of Billy's head. Billy pulls back, and brushes some of Steve's hair off his forehead. He doesn't say anything, just kisses Steve long and slow._ _

__After a little while (it could have been eons for all Steve knows) Billy deepens and changes the kiss. Within seconds, Steve is breathing hard, and is aching, rutting against Billy above him. He pulls back and grins like a wolf down at Steve._ _

__"So pretty." He says, and drops back to his knees on the floor. He strips the sweatshirt off, and before Steve can even look at him, take in all that incredible skin on display, Billy shoves Steve's t-shirt up to his shoulders. He also pulls Steve's sweatpants down, exposing the little happy trail of hair leading down down down. Billy mouths at Steve's stomach, making the muscles there jump. He is breathless, writhing on the couch as best he can in this position. He throws his head back, and closes his eyes, just enjoying the attention and feel of Billy's mouth on him._ _

__Steve is so lost in the sensations that he jumps when Billy finally gets his mouth on him. He hadn’t even realized that Billy had pulled Steve’s cock free of his sweats. Steve's eyes fly open and he looks down, greeted by the glorious sight of Billy taking him in as deep as he can. He lets out a thoroughly blissed out noise that has Billy’s lips twitching like he wants to smirk._ _

__"Bills." Steve breathes out. Billy looks up through his lashes and hums around his mouthful. Steve lets out an extremely embarrassing hnnnng sound, burying his fingers in Billy's hair._ _

__Billy pulls back a bit, suckling on the tip of Steve's dick long enough to drive him crazy._ _

__"So pretty, Stevie, so so perfect." Billy says after he pulls all the way off with a pop. He works a hand around Steve's spit slick cock, smirking when Steve's hips make tiny aborted thrusts. He dives forward again, taking Steve almost down to the base, and begins to work him in earnest. One hand comes up to keep Steve's hips down on the couch, and Steve is helpless to it._ _

__"Billy!" He shouts. "I'm gonna come!" Billy hums in acknowledgement and keeps right on going. Steve gasps, and sort of fold in on himself. He comes with a shout of Billy's name, vision whiting out._ _

__When he comes back to himself, Billy has tucked him back into his pants, and is sitting on the couch next to him._ _

__"Give me just a second and I'll return the favor." Steve mumbles. Billy kisses Steve's shoulder so tenderly, Steve's breath catches._ _

__"No need, pretty boy. Watching you come apart like that, knowing I was the cause, more than enough to get me off. But I am gonna need clean pants."_ _

__Steve bursts out laughing, and lets Billy pull him close for a second. They both feel sweaty and sticky though so Steve goes upstairs and changes into a clean pair of sweatpants and a giant stretched out hoodie, and brings down a fresh pair of pants for Billy._ _

__Billy changes in the bathroom again, opting to wear his now dry shirt from yesterday; a comfy looking white Henley._ _

__Steve makes hot chocolate, the fancy way with milk and actual chocolate on the stove. They meet back up in the TV room, where Billy turns on the TV until he finds some channel playing old movies. Steve curls on the couch and hands Billy a steaming mug._ _

__Steve sits on one end of the couch, leaning against the arm rest, and motions Billy over until he's half lying, half leaning on his chest. Steve threads one hand into the golden curls, still growing out from the summer, and kisses Billy's head._ _

__“How long, baby?” Steve asks. Billy shifts against him a little._ _

__“Since we met probably. And I didn’t know how to handle it, so I just was an asshole all the time.” Billy says._ _

__“That’s ok, we’re here now.” Steve breathes._ _

__“Jesus you’re a sap.” Billy says a little like he didn’t know that. “How long for you?”_ _

__“I got news for you man; you’re stuck with me now.” Steve teases. Billy rolls his eyes. “And since you started lifeguarding, I think. That’s when I had to acknowledge my feelings at least, but probably just as long.”_ _

__“I think you’re the one stuck.” He mumbles, fighting down a blush. Steve frowns down at the blonde in his arms._ _

__“I meant what I said, the Mind Flayer made you do all those things, and you’ve come such a long way since then.” Steve says. Billy sits up to look at him. “You deserve such wonderful things.”_ _

__“Sap.” Billy says, but his eyes are soft. Steve can’t help but draw him into another kiss. They there for a long moment, just enjoying the closeness. “Does this mean I have to stop dropping by Family Video to flirt with you?”_ _

__“YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH ME?!” Steve shrieks, which makes Billy cackle with laughter._ _

__“Glad you picked up on that.” Billy says between chuckles. Steve grumbles at him, but it’s mostly affectionate. They curl back up on the couch, snuggling into each other._ _

__"Stay." Steve whispers a while later._ _

__"It's a fucking Indiana blizzard out there, where the fuck am I gonna go?!" Billy demands without any real heat._ _

__"No, I mean stay here, with me. Don't go back there, to your dad's. Stay here, where you're safe." Steve breathes into Billy's hair._ _

__"Stevie, I don't need protecting…." Billy grumbles._ _

__"Then stay because you deserve to be where you are cared for and loved." Steve's voice is so quiet he's worried Billy can't hear him. There's a tense moment where Steve thinks he's fucked up, but then Billy says:_ _

__"Yeah, alright, pretty boy, don't get your panties in a twist."_ _

__And Steve can breathe again._ _


End file.
